Use of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen compared with conventional oxygen therapy can reduce the risk of reintubation.

Recently a randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of high-flow versus conventional oxygen therapy on critically ill patients at risk of reintubation. The results were positive in favor of high flow therapy and the details are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Continue reading for details on the study and its results.

Interventions Patients were randomized to undergo either high-flow or conventional oxygen therapy for 24 hours after extubation.

Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was reintubation within 72 hours, compared with the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test. Secondary outcomes included postextubation respiratory failure, respiratory infection, sepsis and multiorgan failure, ICU and hospital length of stay and mortality, adverse events, and time to reintubation.

Conclusions and Relevance Among extubated patients at low risk for reintubation, the use of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen compared with conventional oxygen therapy reduced the risk of reintubation within 72 hours.